Applicator.



Patented October 11, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

XAVIER PFlNE, OF VVOODHAVEN, NEW YORK.

APPLICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,176, dated October 11, 1904.

Application filed April 5, 1904. Serial No. 201,729. (No model.) i

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, XAVIER PENE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at VVoodhaven, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Applicators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to surgical instruments intended to insert absorbent cotton or gauze in various parts of the human body and insure said material to be placed where desired therein.

The objects of my invention are to provide a simple, strong, and inexpensive applicator mainly for the treatment of catarrh of the nose, not only to swab the nostrils with the cotton, but to permit said cotton to be detached from the instrument in the upper part of the nostril and remain in that position for any length of time and be again removed without the use of the applicator or of any rigid instrument. I attain these objects by the construction and means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the applicator constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same with a looped length of fine cord or strong thread threaded through a perforation in each end of the instrument. Fig. 3 is a front View of the same with a wad of cotton attached to the threaded thread and having the ends of said thread retained connected to the lower end of the instrument.

In said drawings, A represents the stem of the applicator, which is preferably slightly tapering toward its upper end and terminates in a head a. The opposite end of the stem is flattened at b and slightly wider to provide a handle by which the applicator can be easily operated and controlled. The head a has therein a perforation 0, made substantially axially in its top, but slightly inclined to one side to terminate in a short groove 0 in the surface of the stem A. The handle I) is preferably made in continuity with the surface of the stem on the side having the short groove 0 under the head a to facilitate the grasping of the thread used with the device and its compression against that side of the handle. Within said handle and slightly below its center there is a perforation d to receive the thread used and a slit 6 in the lower end of the handle to receive a portion of the ends of the thread used with the device, as shown in v Fig. 3.

The applicator is intended mainly for the treatment of catarrh of the nose, to cleanse the upper parts of the nostrils and apply medicaments or salves to said parts and keep said medicaments in contact with the mucous membranes for any desired length of time. For this purpose a large tuft of absorbent cotton f or a small wad of gauze or other absorbent material is placed in the looped end g of a strong thread it and secured thereto by tying the two ends of the thread into a knot Z6, a single knot being sufficient. Thetwo ends h h of the thread are then threaded downwardly through the perforation c and pulled alongside of the stem A to the hole cl in the handle and threaded therethrough. The ends of the thread while still under tension are inserted laterally and upwardly through the slit 0, which retains the threads sufficiently tight; but the operator in addition compresses the'threads and the handle of the instrument together between his thumb and forefinger and is ready to use the device even if the thread has not been passed through the hole 0?. The upper end thereof, having the cotton, is then dipped into the medicated preparation or salve and pushed up the nostril, by which the latter can be thoroughly cleansed, and the instrument and mop can then be withdra'wn. When the operation is made in the evening, at which time it is best to keep the mop of cotton saturated with the medicament all night within the upper end of the nostril, where it has been lodged by compression and friction, the operator loosens the threads from the slit end 6 and, straightening them, withdraws the applicator from the nostril, but

leaves the wad of cotton where it has been lodged in the upper end of the nostril. He

then tucks the pendent threads within the lower end of the nostril to remain all night. In the morning he reaches for the ends of the posite 'end, said head having a perforation thread with his finger or With the looped end of a hair-pin and Withdraws the threads and then the Wad of cotton attached thereto.

The applicator is preferably made of metal, as silver, nickel, or aluminium, and its upper end may be slightly bent to one side, a form often given to applicators.

Having noW fully described my invention, I claim- An applicator consisting of a stem having a head at one end and a flat handle at the optherethrough from the top to the side, Whereby it may be readily threaded, and a flat handle having a hole transversely therethrough to receive and hold the thread, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

XAVIER PENE.

W'itnesses:

GEO. L. HIToHoooK, F. H. CoRWIN, Jr. 

